Meant To Be
by Cherry Romancer
Summary: The final chapter! I'll say no more.
1. Next Stop: The Floating Island

"Meant To Be"  
  
Chapter One  
  
"Next Stop: The Floating Island"  
  
  
  
A/N: Here come further adventures of Mina Mongoose and Elias Acorn. I hope you enjoy this story. Once again, I'll ask you to be kind and please not to flame me. Okay. All that said and done, let's get going!  
  
  
  
3 years had passed since Mina's date with Elias to the school dance; a date both of them remembered for the rest of their lives. Elias was now 21 and Mina was 19. They were very much in love, but there was now a slight problem. Since Elias was the heir to the throne and was now of age, his father was urging him to find a wife and take the throne. Elias was willing to grant only half of his father's wish. (A/n: Guess which half?) The problem was, Mina had now become as much of a free spirit as Sonic since she was now in perfect control of her speed and he knew that any mention of the word "marriage" would send her running for the hills.  
  
Sonic certainly thought that Elias was right when he explained this problem. "Mina can be even worse than I am sometimes, and even I'll admit that's saying something," Sonic said. "She won't want to settle down yet."  
  
"I know, but I'm not sure if I'm not unwilling," Elias said.  
  
Sonic regarded him for a minute. "You really love her, don't you?"  
  
"I'd give up everything I have for her," he responded.  
  
"Wow. That sounds almost like Knuckles regarding Julie-Su," Sonic said. At the mention of the guardian's fiancée, Elias got an idea.  
  
"I know what I'll do!" he exclaimed, causing Sonic to fall over in surprise. "I'll go talk to Julie-Su. I haven't seen her for a while anyway, and she'd be able to help me figure this out. Thanks Sonic." And with that, Elias hurried off. Sonic got up and rubbed his head where he'd banged it. Then he laughed.  
  
"Like your sister is always saying Elias, you are one lovesick pup," he remarked.  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
"You're going to the Floating Island?" Mina repeated once Elias had told him. "Why?"  
  
"I'm just going to visit a friend of mine," he assured her. "Her name's Julie-Su, and she'd Knuckles's fiancée. We've known each other for years, ever since before I was brought back to Knothole. I haven't been up to visit her for a long time, so I figured I would go and see her."  
  
"Oh, okay," Mina said. A moment later she asked, "How'd you meet her?"  
  
"It's too long of a story to explain right now," he said. "I'll tell you this though, the Dark Legion was not happy with the two of us as a team." Mina laughed, as she already knew all about the Dark Legion.  
  
"Alright then," she said. She kissed him. "Have a good time." She left the room. Elias smiled after her. He definitely wanted to marry her, but he was afraid of her reaction to his asking her. He finished packing and left.  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
Mina watched as her boyfriend's ship flew away. She felt a funny kind of an ache in her stomach. Not jealousy or worry or suspicion. She has been getting this funny stomachache for a while now, every time she saw Elias. She didn't know what it was exactly, just that it was some kind of wanting. A want for something . . . more. She didn't know what this meant, but she did know that she wanted to figure it out.  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
Elias hopped off the ship. He was finally in a place he felt like was home. Up there in front of him was his long-time friend Julie-Su. She smiled when she saw him and came running over to him. They hugged each other.  
  
"Long time Elias," Julie said.  
  
"Sure has been," Elias agreed. They walked up the street arm-in-arm like true friends.  
  
"You had something you needed my help with?" Julie asked.  
  
Elias blushed and explained his problem. Julie-Su snickered a bit at this. "You came all the way up here just to ask me this?"  
  
"Well, I did miss you too, you know," Elias snapped, still beet red.  
  
"I see," Julie-Su giggled. "Well Elias, there's not really any serious problem. You love her, and she loves you. You've been seeing Mina for about three years now, right?"  
  
"Yeah, more or less," Elias confirmed.  
  
"Well, it sounds like you're both ready for those wedding bells. I mean, Knuckles and I got engaged after two years, so you're definitely ready after three. Don't be afraid of her reaction. Just ask her."  
  
Elias thought for a while and then realized that she was right. He loved Mina. He wanted to be with Mina forever.  
  
"As soon as I get back to Knothole, I'll ask Mina to marry me," he decided. 


	2. Mina, Will You?

Chapter Two  
  
"M-Mina . . . Will you . . .?"  
  
  
  
Mina went to talk to Sally after Elias left to see Julie-Su. She still had that stomachache and she wanted to figure out why she was getting it. Since it had to do with Elias, she figured that maybe his sister would be able to help her.  
  
"You don't know what it means?" Sally asked when Mina explained.  
  
"Not a clue," Mina confirmed. "I know it definitely has to do with Elias though, with our relationship. It's like, I don't know, I just feel like I want more from it."  
  
Sally looked at Mina for a moment before she came up with an idea as to what the problem might be. "Mina, you love Elias, right?"  
  
"Yes, of course!" Mina exclaimed.  
  
"Would you ever consider leaving him for another guy?" Sally asked.  
  
"No chance!" Mina yelled. "Why the questions?"  
  
"I think I may know what your problem is," Sally said. "It may be that you want to become Elias's wife. You know, marry him."  
  
Mina jumped. She'd never even thought of marriage before, but now that Sally had mentioned it, that stomachache seemed to have evaporated.  
  
"My stomachache's gone," Mina said.  
  
Sally smiled. "That's it then. I had the same sort of problem when I wanted Sonic to ask me to go steady. That's how I figured it out."  
  
Mina couldn't believe it, but at the same time, it wasn't all that surprising. After three years of dating Elias, Mina thought it was only natural to want more than just to hold hands and say, "You're my boyfriend." She wanted to hold hands and say, "I do."  
  
"Oh, wow," Mina said. "I can't wait until Elias gets home."  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
Elias was having lunch with Julie-Su and Knuckles. Knuckles understood Elias's problem far better than Julie-Su did. He'd been afraid to ask Julie to marry him too.  
  
"But even so," Knuckles said, "if you really do love her, then go ahead and ask her. Julie-Su's right. I don't see any reason she'd say no."  
  
"I'm just nervous I guess," Elias said.  
  
"Knux would know a lot about that," Julie said, nudging him with her elbow. Knuckles made a face and pushed her lightly.  
  
Elias laughed. He then got up, seemingly steeling himself. They both looked at him. "I'm going to do it as soon as I get back. I'm going to ask Mina to marry me. All I need to do is find a ring for her."  
  
Julie-Su and Knuckles got up. "We'll help you look if you want," Julie said.  
  
"That'd be great," Elias responded.  
  
They went looking for a perfect ring for Mina. It took them about an hour before they came to a good jewelry shop.  
  
"Can I help you?" the sales clerk asked politely.  
  
"No thanks, we're just looking," Knuckles said. He, Julie-Su, and Elias began sorting through the items in the shop.  
  
"OH! Look at this one!" Julie yelped suddenly. Knux and Elias came over to where she was standing. There in front of them was a gorgeous ring. It had two golden hearts entwined on it and set right where they were entwined was a (large) diamond.  
  
"I hope you're not considering buying that one," the clerk said. "It'll definitely set you back a pretty penny. It's really expensive."  
  
"I don't care how expensive it is," Elias said flatly. "It's perfect for Mina. How much?" Elias pulled out his credit card and paid for the ring. They then left the store.  
  
"That's a gorgeous ring," Julie said.  
  
"No doubt about it now Elias," Knuckles said. "She'll say yes when you give her that ring."  
  
"I hope she says yes for a reason other than the ring," Elias said.  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
Mina watched as Elias's ship came in for a landing. She ran to greet him. As soon as he was off of the ship, she threw her arms around him and kissed him.  
  
"Whoa, what's this?" Elias laughed. "I'm only gone for a day and she acts like I'm coming back from a world trip or something."  
  
Mina laughed. "Ah, I guess I just wanted you to come home soon," she said.  
  
"Hey I'm glad you're here anyway," Elias said. "I was gonna call you to see if you want to go out tonight."  
  
"Sure! Where to?"  
  
"Dinner and a walk through the park."  
  
"Oh, romantic date, huh? Okay, I'll be there. Should I dress nice?"  
  
"Hmmmmm. . . dress a little less casual than you normally do, but nothing too fancy."  
  
"Okay." Mina kissed him and left. Elias went up into his room, still very nervous. He was going to ask her that night, he'd already decided, but he was still afraid. Elias knew he was doing the right thing though. He'd never loved anyone as much as Mina. He wanted to be with Mina for the rest of his life. He was decided. He was going to ask her that night.  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
After dinner, they went on a nice long stroll through the park, just enjoying each other's company. They came to the bench next to the fountain; the place where they'd first met, and sat down. Elias was very nervous, but had decided (about twenty times) that he'd ask her. He took a deep breath that caught Mina attention.  
  
"What is it Elias?" she asked him. Elias, almost shaking now, got up.  
  
"Mina, you and I have been going out for three years now. We've had problems, that's true, but we've always held on together through it all. Mina, I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you." He got down on one knee. "Mina Mongoose, will you marry me?"  
  
Mina gasped when she saw the ring Elias was holding. She took it and stared at it for a moment. Elias watched her as her eyes filled with tears.  
  
"Yes, Elias, my prince! I will marry you!"  
  
Elias got up, slipped the ring onto Mina finger, and kissed her. 


	3. The Next Day

Chapter Three  
  
"The Next Day"  
  
  
  
Mina and Elias went back to the castle. It was very late and everybody had gone to sleep. Elias and Mina slipped into Elias's room and locked the door.  
  
"Elias, you don't know how happy this makes me," Mina said in a very quiet voice, looking at her ring.  
  
Elias kissed her again. "You don't know how happy it made me when you said yes," he responded.  
  
They resumed making out and sat on the bed. After a few minutes, Elias pulled away from Mina.  
  
"Are you sure you want to do this Mina?" he asked. "We can't undo it once it's done."  
  
Mina pinned Elias to the bed and said, "Prince Elias Maximillian Acorn, I have been ready for you for a year now. I've been waiting for this for a long time." And she kissed him with more passion than she ever had before. Elias, feeling reassured by this, kissed her back and their "slumber party" began. (A/n: I'm only assuming that's what Elias's middle name is, since Sally middle name is her mother's.)  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
Sally woke up the next morning vaguely thinking about visiting Tails and seeing how he was doing with his new plane, the Twister, with Elias. She dragged herself out of bed, got dressed, and went down the corridor to Elias's room. When she tried to open the door, she found it locked.  
  
"Weird," she thought. She then proceeded to bang on the door and yell, "ELIAS!! WAKE UP!!! WE WERE GOING TO GO VISIT TAILS TODAY!!!!" Then she strode off. Her yell succeeded in waking up not only Elias, but his guest as well.  
  
"(Yawn) Wow. Last night was incredible," Mina said, stretching.  
  
"You seem to have picked up my gift for the understatement," Elias joked. Then he became serious. "Mina, we can't do that again until our wedding night. We can't afford the risk. I'm not surprised that I couldn't control myself last night, but it can't happen again."  
  
Mina became equally serious. "I agree with you. We can't risk me getting pregnant. I just hope no one finds out about this."  
  
Mina got out of bed and began gathering her clothes off of the floor. While she was doing so, a horrible detail she hadn't considered came into mind. "Oh, by the Walkers! What am I going to tell my parents to explain me being gone all last night?"  
  
"Well, hey, you've spent the night here before," Elias said easily, though he too looked uneasy. "Just tell them that you felt too tired last night after your date to drag yourself home and so you spent the night." Elias smiled. "You wouldn't even be lying. You'd just be leaving out certain details."  
  
Mina laughed and finished getting dressed. Elias walked her to the doors and kissed her goodbye. Afterwards, he went to have some breakfast. As he sat down, he noticed Sally giving him an odd look. He made a mental note to ask her what was up later.  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
The story Elias had given Mina went over quite smoothly with Terry and Jason. She hurried up to her room and lay on her bed. All she could think about was the previous night, how gentle but passionate Elias was, how tender he seemed to become when they became intimate. It was the best night of her life and it was one she would never forget. She had dreamed of it ever since she and Elias had first kissed; their first time together physically. It had been everything she'd hoped for and so much more. In love. Those were the only words you could use to describe her feelings towards her dear prince. Mina thought for a minute about how she'd felt about Sonic when she'd liked him. There was no comparison. The way she felt about Elias was so much stronger. Her crush on Sonic had been nothing more than an adolescent experiment to see if she could handle the feelings.  
  
Mina got up and got dressed in her usual black sleeveless shirt, beige shorts, and teal boots and gloves. Once she'd put on her six earrings and her black headband, she left the house again. Sally had said that they were going to visit Tails that day. She decided that she could "run into" Elias there. She really wanted to talk to him about the wedding. She wanted to be with him forever and the sooner they got married, the better.  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
"So, what to do you think of it so far?" Tails asked as he showed Sally and Elias the Twister. It wasn't fully built yet, but considering that he'd only been working on it after school for three months, the progress he'd made on it was amazing. It was about ¾ of the way built already.  
  
Tails blushed when Sally and Elias paid him these compliments. "Well, I have had help ya know," he said.  
  
"Who, Rotor?" Elias asked.  
  
"Nope," came a girl's voice from the back of the workshop. It was the girl Tails had taken to the school dance three years ago, Talina. She and Tails had been seeing each other steadily for the same amount of time as Elias and Mina.  
  
"Oh, hello Talina," Sally said, somewhat amused. "We should have known it was you. I mean, wherever Tails goes, you follow."  
  
Talina laughed good-naturedly and brought some more parts over to Tails. "We're hoping that we'll be able to make this plane even more powerful than the Tornado."  
  
"Yeah," Tails agreed. "We'll have all weekend to work on it now, but we still have a long way to go. Oh, hey Mina!"  
  
Mina had just walked up. Elias turned around and smiled at her affectionately. She gave him her "I want to talk to you" smile. Elias nodded so that only she could see and then they both turned back to listen to Talina and Tails describe what they were doing and how they were going to use a Chaos Emerald to power it. After they were finished, Elias and Mina excused themselves and went for a walk.  
  
"What's going on Mina?" Elias asked.  
  
"I was just thinking that we need to figure out when the wedding will be," Mina said bluntly, "and how we're going to tell everyone."  
  
"Don't worry about telling everyone," Elias said. "Dad told me that once I got engaged to a girl I love that there'd be a public announcement. Not only that, he'll have someone else plan the wedding for us." He said this with more than a little resentment in his voice. Mina, who already knew that Elias didn't want to be royalty, hugged him.  
  
"You could tell him that you'd prefer it if we planned it," she suggested.  
  
"I know I should, but I've always been afraid to tell my father that I dislike being treated like a prince in any way, shape, or form. I really don't want to even think about how he'd react to me saying that I don't want a big wedding."  
  
Mina sighed. "I don't really want a big wedding either, but I can't do anything about it Elias. Only you can. You're the one that has to go talk to your father."  
  
Elias looked at his fiancée for a minute, and then he smiled. "You're right Mina, as always. I'll go talk to Dad as soon as I get home." 


	4. Separation?

Chapter Four  
  
"Trouble Begins; Separation?"  
  
  
  
"So you're going to talk to your father about Mina and planning the wedding?" Sonic said.  
  
"Yep," Elias responded. It was early afternoon. Elias, Mina, Sonic, and Sally were walking through the garden in back of the palace. Elias had just finished telling Sally and Sonic about their plans.  
  
"This is a first," Sally remarked. "I've never seen you stand up to Dad before."  
  
Elias chose to ignore that comment. "Mina said she'd help me with this, but I'm still a little nervous."  
  
"Well, I think it's about time you stood up to your father," Mina said. "I mean, you are twenty-one."  
  
"Can it Mina," Elias said as Sonic and Sally began to snicker.  
  
Mina stifled her laughter. "Anyway, I think I'm busy until tomorrow, so how about then?"  
  
"What are you doing until tomorrow?" Sally asked.  
  
"I'm helping Tails tutor Talina," Mina answered.  
  
"Oh, yeah," Sonic said. "That's one you'll always have up on me, Mina. You're mind is as fast as your feet."  
  
Mina grinned and hugged Sonic. "That's the first time you've ever admitted that someone is better at something that has to do with speed than you are,"  
  
Sally and Elias laughed as Sonic pushed Mina off. She turned to Elias and said, "I've got to go. I'll see you tomorrow Elias-hun." She kissed him on the cheek and ran off.  
  
"I gotta beat it too," Sonic said. He kissed Sally and then ran off himself.  
  
Elias and Sally smiled. "We sure are lucky to have them," Sally said.  
  
"You got that right sis'," Elias agreed.  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
"Mina, are you okay?" Terry asked when Mina got home that night. She had come home looking rather disheveled.  
  
Jason noticed it too. "Mina, what's the matter?" he asked.  
  
Mina looked at both of them and then burst into tears. They hurried to comfort their daughter and kept on asking her what was wrong.  
  
Mina finally managed to choke back her sobs enough to say, "My night has been very, extremely, agonizingly long."  
  
"Mina, calm down and tell us what happened," Jason said.  
  
Mina relaxed, took a deep breath, and said, "It started when I got over to Talina's to tutor her. When I got there, Tails came to me with a message that said . . ."  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
"You're to go to the palace right away," Tails told Mina.  
  
"Why? Does Elias need me for something?" Mina asked.  
  
"It has something to do with Elias, I can tell you that, but I'm not supposed to tell you any more than that," he answered, shaking his head. "I'll tell you this too; be ready for anything, and I mean ANYTHING."  
  
With that, Tails turned around and went into Talina's room, leaving Mina very confused and worried. Had Elias been hurt? Was he in some sort of danger? Mina could bear the thought of what might be wrong, so she decided to go and find out what the deal was. Running at top speed, she reached the palace in less than two minutes.  
  
Mina entered the palace with an ominous feeling. Something definitely didn't feel right. For one thing, the guards were giving Mina an odd look, like they were torn between amusement, envy, and disapproval. For another thing, Geoffrey St. John swept past her looking oddly cheerful. This certainly put Mina on her guard. The last time she'd seen St. John happy was when she and Elias had been having a fight so earth shattering that they'd almost broken up. The biggest thing that put Mina on her guard was Hershey, whom she'd been friends with ever since they'd first met.  
  
Hershey came up to Mina looking very stressed and said in a very formal fashion, "This way Miss Mongoose."  
  
Mina was deathly frightened after that. Whenever Hershey had been formal with her before, she'd always had to fight down the friendliness that crept into her voice whenever she saw Mina. There was no friendliness in her voice now, just a sort of hollow, empty sound. It reminded Mina of the sound of an echo from deep inside of a cavern.  
  
She followed Hershey into the throne room. Sally, Elias, King Max, and Queen Alicia were all sitting there (well actually, Elias was standing). Hershey turned around and started to leave, but before she did she whispered to Mina, "Mina, it's essential that you keep your temper in check for once. You can't let your heart get the better of you this time. Keep your cool and think before you speak." Then Hershey was gone. Mina was left with an apprehensive feeling. She came up to the throne of the king and queen and bowed.  
  
"Stand up straight, young Mina," Alicia said. Mina did so. "Well now, Elias has told us that he has asked you to marry him."  
  
Mina shot Elias a dark look, but she saw that he was carefully avoiding her eyes. She took this as a bad sign. He hadn't meant to tell them, but something had happened that caused him to tell. She knew it. Now they were both in trouble because of something that she had no idea what was. Unless it was . . .  
  
Mina hastily shoved that thought from her mind and asked politely, "How did you find out already, if I may ask? Elias and I weren't planning on telling you until tomorrow."  
  
King Max cleared his throat and made a motion as if to stand up, but since he was paralyzed from the waist down, he couldn't. But still, for a man in a wheelchair, he sure knew how to make himself looked frightening. Mina cringed a little because of the look on his face.  
  
"We overheard a conversation between Sally and Elias tonight at dinner," he said in a dangerously quiet voice. "It seems as though Elias was asking Sally why she had been acting weird around him all day. According to him, she didn't pick on him at all today, and that in itself is very odd. Sally whispered something to Elias that made him turn red and squirm a little, but he still whispered and we couldn't hear a word. Then, at some point when the conversation between them was almost forgotten by us, we caught, "Elias, you SLEPT with Mina. That won't gloss over easy." That of course caught our attention and we demanded to know what was going on. At first they refused to speak, but eventually we got the story. It would seem that Sally went into Elias's room to get Nicole back from Elias and found what looked like a pair of stockings that were covered in a substance that Sally was too embarrassed to try and figure out. I, however, know what it was, though I dare not say it in a lady's presence. Alicia became very upset and began yelling that you weren't even engaged yet, but then Elias told us that you in fact, are engaged as of last night."  
  
King Max stopped and caught his breath. Mina was feeling utterly humiliated. She knew that she'd forgotten something in Elias's room that morning, but she hadn't been thinking straight and didn't bother to look for it. Now, because of that, she and Elias were busted in the worst possible way. She looked at Elias, who met her eye this time. They were both thinking the same thing: they were sunk. History. Kaput.  
  
So naturally, they were more than a little surprised when Queen Alicia said, "We will begin plans for the wedding right away! We must get you two married as soon as possible if you are that much in love!"  
  
Everybody in the room, including King Max and Sally, looked at the queen as though something had shaken loose in her head. Alicia said, "Well, if they can't even wait for marriage to be together that way, then they must be married quickly."  
  
"Um, Mom?" Sally said almost in a whisper. "What are you talking about? This isn't the way you were acting before."  
  
"Yeah, are you okay?" Elias asked.  
  
"I am quite fine," Alicia said. She didn't look it though. In fact, she'd looked healthier when she was in her stasis tube.  
  
Max noticed this. "Alicia, if you wouldn't mind, I think it would be wiser for me to handle this."  
  
Alicia looked at him and simply nodded. Max, though clearly worried about his wife, continued from where he'd left off. "As I was saying, I believe that such behavior is immature and shows what type of a person you are."  
  
Mina blinked and swallowed, even though her mouth was dry. Did King Max mean what she feared he meant?  
  
"As of this moment, I do not want you near Prince Elias at all," King Max said.  
  
"WHAT?" Elias yelled, forgetting where he was and whom he was speaking to. Max turned to his son, surprised. "Father, you can't do that! You can't take Mina away from me!"  
  
Max, however, looked unfazed by what Elias said. He turned back to Mina and said, "You are hereby forbidden from seeing the prince again and this 'engagement' is hereby nullified!"  
  
Mina's legs gave out and she sank onto her knees. Sally looked too horror- stricken to speak, Alicia was still looking ill, and Elias was just standing there, completely dumbfounded.  
  
When Mina finally found her voice, she whispered, "Please, King Acorn, please, I beg of you, don't take Elias away from me! He's the most important thing on Mobius to me. I beg you, don't do this!"  
  
"Father, please listen to reason!" Elias said angrily. "I'm in love with Mina. She's in love with me. We make each other happy. What would you accomplish if you took us away from each other?"  
  
Queen Alicia stood up and yelled, "There's your protection Elias, as well as the protection of the family Acorn!"  
  
Everyone looked at her again. Alicia sat back down, muttering something about "monthlies."  
  
King Max cleared his throat and said, "My word is final. From now on, you are forbidden to see each other!"  
  
Mina and Elias were stunned. Sally, too, looked as though nothing worse could have occurred. After a short while, King Max said, "Elias, you may walk Miss Mina Mongoose back to the doors and say your good-byes, but after that, you are never to be near each other again."  
  
Elias came over and helped Mina up, and they then left the throne room. They went as slowly as they could, taking as long as possible to reach the doors.  
  
Mina spoke first. "Elias, I am so sorry. If I had just thought to make sure that I'd gathered everything . . ."  
  
"Mina, don't blame yourself for this," Elias said firmly. "First of all, it wasn't your fault, and second of all, there's nothing else to be done about it now."  
  
Mina looked into his eyes and he looked back. They had reached the front doors, which weren't very far from the throne room. They leaned towards each other and kissed deeply, with more than just passion. This time they both felt a sense of great loss, of a great longing. When they parted, Mina could see tears forming in his eyes and could feel them forming in her own. Elias brushed her tears away and whispered, "Don't worry. I promise you, I'll find a way for us to be together again." Elias then turned away from Mina and went back into the palace. Mina, feeling for the first time just what exactly she had lost, ran home at top speed.  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
"Oh, Mina, that's awful," Terry said. "I'm not going to hide the fact that I dislike that you slept with the prince, but you are nineteen now and you can make your own decisions."  
  
"Don't worry Mina," Jason crooned soothingly. "Prince Elias gave you his word. Everyone knows that the royal family is bound by their word. He will find a way."  
  
Mina looked at her parents. They knew that Mina was in great pain, but they didn't understand why she was.  
  
"You just don't understand," Mina whispered. And she ran to her room, locking the door behind her. 


	5. Escape

Chapter Five  
  
"Escape"  
  
  
  
Dear Diary,  
  
Two months. That's how long it's been since I've seen Elias. I can't take this anymore. It's literally starting to make me sick. I've been throwing up in the mornings whenever I think about what King Acorn said. I don't know if my mind, or body for that matter, can take this separation for too much longer. I must see Elias, just once. I miss him so much . . . That's the funny thing about life. You never realize exactly how precious something or someone is to you until you lose him.  
  
Love,  
  
Mina  
  
  
  
Mina put her diary down and stared out of her window towards the palace. She had done so every day since the king had gave out his command. This day, for some odd reason though, she felt like something was different. Mina had this odd feeling that her day was going to be an interesting one.  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
Elias was staring out of his own window at the same time as Mina that morning. He had been extremely miserable ever since his father took Mina away from him. He had been so miserable, in fact, that he had begun to neglect his responsibilities as Prince of Knothole and acting ruler. Sally, who more than understood, had been filling in for him.  
  
This morning, though, Elias didn't feel sad. He was thinking of what he was going to do that afternoon. He had been planning this for weeks. Elias couldn't bear the thought of living life without his fiancée. He didn't care what the risks were or the costs. He just wanted to be with Mina Mongoose forever.  
  
His phone rang. Elias answered it. Tails was on the other line.  
  
"So, we're going for it tonight then?" he asked.  
  
"Yes, we are," Elias answered. "I can't take this anymore. I know that it's risky, but I can't keep going without Mina."  
  
Tails laughed. "I understand Elias. I know what that's like. Okay then, tonight. I'll make sure to let Mina know what's going on."  
  
"Okay." Elias was about to say good-bye, but he had a second thought. "Hey, Tails?"  
  
"What's up?"  
  
"Thanks a lot for everything," Elias said.  
  
"It's no problem," Tails said. Elias could practically hear the smile in his voice. "I'm always glad to help out a friend."  
  
"I know. Thanks so much," Elias said. He hung up the phone just as Sally came in.  
  
"Tonight?" she asked.  
  
"Tonight," Elias confirmed. Sally gave him a sad smile.  
  
"I'm glad that you'll be able to be with Mina, but I'm not going to hide the fact that I'll miss you." Sally sat down on his bed. "What'll you do if Dad . . .?"  
  
"I'll deal with that situation if and when it comes up," Elias said. He smiled at his sister. "Sal', I really appreciate all the help you're giving me."  
  
"I just want you to be happy," Sally said quietly. She hugged him and got up. "Elias, go to the one you love." She walked out of his room, closing the door behind herself.  
  
Elias went to his dresser, pulled out a large duffel bag, and began stuffing clothes into it. He, Sally, Sonic, and Tails had been planning this for weeks. He was going to go get Mina that night and they were going to run away to the Floating Island. He knew Mina would agree. They had been keeping in touch by letters and messages through their friends, and in the last letter he'd gotten from her, she'd said that she'd run away with him if she had to, just so long as they could be together. Unfortunately for them both, King Max and Queen Alicia had gotten wind of the letter contact and cut it off, preventing Elias from letting Mina know about the plan. Even so, Elias had gone ahead with the planning and was ready to carry it out tonight. His greatest wish was to be with Mina, no matter what the cost.  
  
He finished packing his bag and hid it under his bed. He just hoped Tails would be able to let Mina know before that night.  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
Mina was in the bathroom when Tails came over. Like she'd written in her diary, she'd been getting sick lately. She would spend most of her day in the bathroom with her head held over the toilet bowl.  
  
"It's because I don't feel right without Elias," she told Tails when he asked her what was wrong. "I've been like this for a while." She popped a breath mint into her mouth so Tails wouldn't have to deal with her vomit- scented mouth.  
  
Tails told Mina what Elias was planning to that night. Mina at once became overjoyed. She would do anything to be with Elias, even give up her life in Knothole (which, frankly, had dropped from poor to abysmal).  
  
"What time?" she asked quietly so her parents wouldn't hear.  
  
"Ten-thirty," Tails answered. "Sally and Sonic are going to create a huge riot in the palace and that's when Elias will escape. He'll come by my workshop and that's when we'll come get you. After that it's just a matter of getting to the Tornado and taking off. Once we're airborne, you and Elias will be out of Knothole for good."  
  
Mina was filled with ecstasy. It was perfect! She and Elias would finally be together forever!  
  
"I'll be ready by then," she promised. "Tell Elias that I'll be waiting for him with a kiss."  
  
Tails grinned at her and left.  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
"You're coming to live up here on the Floating Island?" Julie-Su exclaimed when Elias called her that afternoon.  
  
"That's right," Elias said. "I can't take life down here anymore. I want to live on the Floating Island again, plus I want to be with Mina. I'm coming up to the Floating Island tonight. Do you think you could let us stay with you until we can get a place of our own?"  
  
"No problem," Julie-Su assured him. "I've got a spare bedroom that you and Mina can share. You don't mind sharing one twin bed with her, do you?"  
  
Elias made a face at Julie-Su's taunt. "Not funny. Not funny at all."  
  
Julie-Su laughed. "I'm sorry, Elias, I just couldn't resist. Okay then, you guys can stay here."  
  
If Julie-Su was right there, Elias could have kissed her. Again. "Thanks a lot Julie."  
  
"Nothin' to it," she answered. "See ya later then."  
  
"Later much," Elias responded before Julie-Su heard the click that meant he'd hung up. She put her own phone down and picked it right back up, dialing Knuckles's number.  
  
Knuckles, who'd been taking a nap after a hard training session, sounded rather groggy when he answered, "Hello, Knuckles here."  
  
"Well, your voice is at least," Julie-Su teased. "Your mind seems to be in another zone."  
  
Knuckles managed to wake himself up enough to respond, "Yeah, same as your conscience, right?"  
  
"More or less," Julie-Su said. They both laughed.  
  
"What's up Julie?" Knuckles asked.  
  
"I have some interesting info for you," she said.  
  
She paused dramatically. Finally, Knuckles said, "Well?"  
  
"It's about Elias," she continued, enjoying milking this for all its worth.  
  
"And?" Knuckles pressed.  
  
"Has to do with Mina also," she said.  
  
Knuckles had had enough. "Julie-Su, tell me now or I'm hanging up on you," he threatened.  
  
Julie-Su knew better than to test him on that threat; she'd done that before and wound up talking to a dial tone. "Okay, okay, I'll tell you. Elias just called me. He told me that he's had enough of living in Knothole and living without being allowed to see Mina. They're going to run away from home tonight and guess where they're coming to live?"  
  
"Don't tell me," Knuckles said, starting to laugh.  
  
"Yup. They're coming up to the Floating Island," Julie-Su said. "Elias and Mina are coming to stay with me until they can find a place of their own."  
  
"Unreal," Knuckles remarked. "We'll finally get to meet the legendary Mina Mongoose."  
  
"Ah-yup, that we will," Julie-Su agreed. Knuckles chuckled on the other end of the line. "Listen, I better go now. They won't be here until late, but the extra room is an unholy mess. I keep on tossing my junk in there, so I need to clean it up."  
  
"I'll come over and give you a hand," Knuckles offered.  
  
"Oh, would you? I'd like that."  
  
"No problem Julie," Knuckles said. "All right, I'm coming over."  
  
"Okay. See you in a couple of minutes Knux," Julie-Su said as she hung up the phone.  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
The first part of the plan went off without a hitch. Sally and Sonic, with some help from Amy Rose, Bunnie, Rotor, Antoine, and Talina, had managed to create a huge disruption in the palace, completely distracting King Max, Queen Alicia, and the Royal Guard. Elias slipped out of the palace easily and hurried to Tails's workshop.  
  
"Elias, you ready?" Tails whispered.  
  
"Sure am," Elias replied. "Let's go get Mina."  
  
They hurried to Mina's house. Since it was so late, Terry and Jason had already gone to sleep. Mina's bedroom lights were still on, though, so they went over to her open window and climbed in.  
  
Mina, who'd been half asleep, jerked awake. "Elias! Oh, Elias!" she cried, rushing over to him.  
  
"Mina!" Elias said, pulling her into a tight hug. They hugged and kissed each other for a good ten minutes, during which Tails occupied himself by counting the stars outside the window.  
  
Finally, the two pulled away from each other. Tails turned around to face them and said, "If you two are done, we should get outta here. They won't be able to keep up that ruckus at the palace forever, and we need to be in the plane and gone by the time they realize that you're missing Elias."  
  
"Tails is right," Elias said. "We need to get . . ." He trailed off when he saw the look that Mina was giving him. She looked like she had something very heavy on her mind.  
  
Tails noticed it too. "What's the matter Mina?" he asked.  
  
Mina sighed heavily and looked straight into the prince's blue eyes that she had missed so much, but now wanted to avoid looking at.  
  
"Mina, what?" Elias urged.  
  
Mina took another deep breath and said, "Elias, I'm pregnant." 


	6. Free

Chapter Six  
  
"Free"  
  
  
  
Elias stumbled and fell backwards onto Mina's bed. Tails had to grab onto the windowsill to keep his own balance.  
  
Pregnant. Mina Mongoose, Elias's fiancée, was pregnant.  
  
Elias's ability to speak seemed to have evaporated and even Tails was having trouble stringing two words together. "You-you're pregnant?" Tails asked. "But, well, I mean, how could . . . how on Mobius could you be . . . unless you and Elias . . ." Suddenly Tails stood up straight and gave Elias a look that was similar to one Sally would have given him. It was filled with disbelief.  
  
Elias found his voice again. "How long have you known?" he asked Mina, ignoring Tails.  
  
"Only since this afternoon," she said. Tails gave her a look too. "It was after you left. My mother was worried about me for a few days, and when I started throwing up in the morning she began to guess what was wrong and got me a pregnancy test. I used it earlier and the results were positive."  
  
There was a sudden kaboom outside. Tails looked out the window and saw a flare fading in the sky. He became worried.  
  
"That was sent off by Talina," he said. "It's a signal to warn us when they've realized that Elias is gone! We need to move, and I mean NOW!"  
  
He jumped out of the window, followed by Elias and Mina. Tails flew high up and saw that there were already search parties forming. "Damn," Tails thought. "They're fast to organize."  
  
He landed and said, "Mina, do you think you could carry Elias to the Tornado? I can't carry him; he's too heavy. We need to move as fast as we can, and you're just as fast as Sonic."  
  
"Don't sweat it Tails," Mina said. "I'm strong too. I can do it."  
  
"Great," Tails said. "I'll fly ahead and get the plane started. I want to be ready to be gone when you get there."  
  
Tails took off again. Mina picked up her bag and Elias wrapped his arms around her neck.  
  
"The last time we did this there was an emergency too," Elias commented.  
  
"Yeah, I remember," Mina said. "But now's not the time to reminisce. Let's juice!"  
  
Mina wrapped her own arm around Elias and ran. After one tense minute of running, they got to the workshop. Tails was already in the Tornado and the plane was running.  
  
"Come on!" Tails said. "There's enough room in the second seat for two. Let's move!"  
  
Elias and Mina didn't need to be told twice. They were in the plane and Tails took flight. They were finally free, and finally together. Elias hugged Mina and she hugged back. Tails glanced backwards at his two happy friends, but turned right back around so he could concentrate on flying. It was lucky that he did, too, because Mina and Elias were talking about things that they probably didn't want anyone to overhear.  
  
"You're two months in, right?" Elias asked.  
  
"More or less," Mina confirmed. She looked at her stomach and placed her hand over it. "You know something? Even if you hadn't come up with this plan, I probably would have been able to talk some sense into King Acorn because of his future grandchild." She gave him a small smile. "Or, if not him, then at least your mother."  
  
Elias chuckled. "I'm sure that Dad would have seen sense, but even if he did, you know I hate royal life."  
  
"I know," she sighed. Then something occurred to her. "Where are we going to stay?"  
  
"Don't think I didn't think of that," Elias said, hugging her again. "Remember when I told you about my friend Julie-Su?"  
  
"Guardian Knuckles's fiancée, right?" Mina asked.  
  
"Yeah, how'd you know about that?"  
  
"Sonic."  
  
"Oh. Duh. Well, anyway, I called her earlier and she said we could come stay with her until we find a place of our own."  
  
"Great," Mina said. She rubbed her stomach again. "I wonder if our child will be a boy or a girl."  
  
"Our luck? Probably a boy, and one like me at that," Elias joked. Mina laughed. "Well, it would make sense, wouldn't it?"  
  
Mina continued to giggle. "Elias, honey, as much as I love you, I am not sure I'd want to try and raise a child too much like you." Elias pinched her.  
  
"Very funny," he said. "Do you think you'll last the trip without getting sick?" Mina was looking faintly sick. She almost always got airsick, and with her pregnant . . .  
  
"I'll hold," she reassured him. "I hope that Julie-Su doesn't mind us dropping in so late."  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
Julie-Su and Knuckles, who'd decided to stay until they got there, were waiting on the roof of Julie's apartment building when Tails brought the Tornado in for a landing. They walked forward, smiling as Tails, Mina, and Elias jumped down.  
  
"Hey! How're ya doin'?" Julie said. "Hi Elias!"  
  
"Hey Julie!" Elias responded. The two of them hugged.  
  
When the separated, Julie-Su said, "Well, aren't you going to introduce us to your girlfriend?"  
  
Elias walked back to Mina and put his hands on her shoulders. "Mina, this is my long-time friend Julie-Su, and this is the youngest of the Guardians, Knuckles. Julie, Knux, this is the love of my life, Mina Mongoose."  
  
Knuckles made a face. "Did you have to mention that I'm the youngest of the Guardians? I am twenty-one you know. Same as you."  
  
Elias grinned embarrassedly. "Sorry, Knux. I didn't mean anything by it."  
  
Knuckles just shook his head and turned to Tails. "How're you doin' there Tails? Been a while since you came up to the Floating Island."  
  
"I know, I've just been busy," Tails said. "How are the Chaotix? Does Vector still give Julie-Su endless grief?"  
  
Julie-Su made an annoyed sound. "He has the entire time I've known him. I don't think I'll ever get along with him."  
  
Mina stepped forward and offered her hand to Julie, who took it gladly. "It's nice to meet you. And you, Knuckles." She shook his hand too.  
  
Tails made a small noise. "I think I'd better beat it. As it is, I'm already going to be killed by the Acorns."  
  
Elias and Mina felt very guilty, but before either of them could say a word, Tails held up his hand. "If you hadn't asked me to help, I would have asked you if I could help. That's the way I am." He smiled. "I'll see you." He hopped into the Tornado and flew away. He was the last of the Knothole Freedom Fighters that either of them saw for quite a while.  
  
"Come on, let's all go inside," Julie suggested. They followed her to her apartment.  
  
"Nice place," Mina said.  
  
"Thanks," Julie replied. She went into the kitchen and made some food. "Are you hungry?"  
  
Mina, who was still feeling queasy, declined, but Elias and Knuckles took a sandwich each. After taking one herself, Julie-Su sat down between Knuckles and Elias. Before she'd taken one bite of her sandwich, though, she realized something was up. Knuckles had apparently noticed, too, because he'd stopped eating.  
  
"Is something wrong?" Knuckles asked.  
  
"Yeah, what's going on with you Elias?" Julie added. "You're normally beginning to trail down memory lane by now."  
  
Elias, who'd only been nibbling at his food, put the sandwich down and looked at Mina, who sighed.  
  
"You might as well know," Mina said. "I'm pregnant." Julie dropped the cup of water she'd been holding. "I just found out this afternoon and I told Elias when he came and got me."  
  
"How far in?" Knuckles asked.  
  
"Two months," Mina answered.  
  
"Elias Maximillian Acorn, I am stunned," Julie-Su said with mock scolding in her voice. "I'd have thought that you, of all people, would wait for marriage."  
  
"Can it Julie," Elias said, getting a wicked grin on his face. "I don't seem to recall you and Knuckles waiting? Huh?"  
  
Julie went red and Knuckles turned purple. Changing the subject, Mina said, "I want to go to bed. I'm really tired."  
  
"Okay," Julie said, still red. "I'll show you the room."  
  
"Me too," Elias said, stifling a yawn.  
  
They followed her to the spare room, which only had a twin bed for sleeping in. (And, judging by the look on Mina's and Elias's faces, they were planning to make the most of it.) Leaving them to their "rest", Julie-Su went back to Knuckles.  
  
"Knux, we have just begun a very weird chapter of life on this already odd island." 


	7. A Slight Problem

Chapter Seven  
  
"A Slight Problem"  
  
  
  
The next morning, Elias woke up fairly early. He carefully climbed out of bed so as not to wake Mina, got dressed, and slipped out into the living room. He was slightly surprised to see Julie-Su awake and sitting on the couch.  
  
"What are you doing up so early?" Julie-Su asked.  
  
"I could ask you the same thing," Elias responded.  
  
"Oh, come on. I'm an early bird," Julie said.  
  
"Shall I get you your worm?" Elias teased.  
  
"Very funny," Julie answered, smiling. "What are you doing up so early? After your, err, 'playtime' with Mina last night, I thought for sure you'd both sleep in."  
  
Elias turned red. "You heard us?"  
  
She laughed. "No, no, not at all, but it doesn't take a genius to figure out what you two were doing last night."  
  
Elias's blush deepened. He gave Julie-Su such an icy look that she stopped making fun of him.  
  
"Okay, okay, I'll stop!" she said. "So, what are you planning to do today?"  
  
"Job hunting and house hunting," he answered. "I don't want to trouble you too long, so I think I better get to looking for a place right away."  
  
"You shouldn't have too hard of a time," Julie said. "One of the apartments down the hall is available. All you have to worry about right now is finding a job for yourself."  
  
"That's great!" Elias said. "That is really great! I can't wait to tell Mina when she wakes up."  
  
"Which would be now," came a sleepy voice from behind them. They turned around and saw Mina standing there in her robe and with a bed head. Julie had to bite her tongue to keep from laughing.  
  
"You know, you two are incredibly loud when you tease each other," Mina said.  
  
"Sorry about that Mina," Elias said. "How are you this morning?"  
  
Mina was about to answer when she suddenly grabbed her stomach and her mouth. Gagging, she ran to the bathroom.  
  
"I guess that's a semi-lousy," Julie-Su remarked. Elias gave her another icy look. Julie cringed. "Will you stop looking at me like that?"  
  
"Stop the teasing then," Elias said. "It's not funny to make jokes about Mina being pregnant."  
  
"You're right. I'm sorry," Julie said.  
  
Mina re-entered the room, looking distinctly ruffled. "I think I'll stay in bed today. That plane trip last night and my being pregnant is not being exactly kind to my stomach."  
  
Elias got up and came over to Mina. "Are you okay?"  
  
"Yes, yes, don't worry," Mina reassured him, smiling. "I'm sure it's nothing a good day of rest won't fix." She gave him a quick hug and went back to bed.  
  
Elias smiled grimly. "That Mina will do anything to try and keep me from worrying about her." He shook his head and turned around to look at Julie- Su. "Will you keep an eye on her while I'm out today?"  
  
"Sure, no problem," Julie replied. She glanced at a clock. It read 8:34. "Maybe you'd better get started on your job hunt. It'll take a while, so you need all the time you can get."  
  
Elias nodded. "Tell Mina I'll be back by 7:30 tonight."  
  
"Okay." Julie hugged him. "It's really great having you up here, you know."  
  
"It's great to be up here," he responded. "I'm out." He left. Julie sat back down and turned on her television. The news was on.  
  
"Our top story today comes from the Kingdom of Knothole," the reporter was saying. "It would seem that the Prince Elias has gone missing."  
  
Julie sat right up. "Uh-oh," she thought.  
  
"The prince and his apparent fiancée, one Mina Mongoose, both vanished late last night after a fiasco at the palace."  
  
"Holy shit!!" Julie swore. "MINA!!!!!!"  
  
Mina came right out of her room. "What is it?"  
  
"Look at this!!!" Julie said. Mina looked.  
  
"One Miles Prower has been questioned as to the whereabouts of the prince, but he has not yet spoken. King Maximillian and Queen Alicia have issued a reward for anyone who can give information about the location of Prince Elias."  
  
Mina swore in a very foul manner. "What are we going to do? Everyone will be looking for him now!"  
  
"I don't know!" Julie replied urgently. "Right now, I think I'd better go stop him from going out!" With that, Julie-Su was out the door. Mina sat on the couch and waited. A few minutes later, Julie-Su came back followed by a very confused Elias.  
  
"What's the matter?" he asked.  
  
"Elias, they're looking for us," Mina said.  
  
"What?" he exclaimed.  
  
"It was just on the news!" Julie said. "They've got a reward going around and everything!"  
  
"Damn it!" Elias yelled. "Now what do we do?"  
  
"You stay here," Julie said. "You haven't got a choice now. I don't mind at all. In fact, I'll be glad if you stay here. At least I know you're both safe here."  
  
"Okay, okay!" Elias said, backing away from Julie-Su slightly. "We'll stay." 


	8. Complications

Chapter Eight  
  
"Complications"  
  
Mina was back in bed, Elias was on the couch, and Julie-Su was making breakfast when Knuckles got to Julie's apartment.  
  
"Saw the news, did you?" Julie remarked casually as she let him in.  
  
"You kidding me?" Knux asked. "I'm not the only one, either. With the minor recession going on, people are starting to get desperate for money in any way, and since Elias is a missing prince, they won't see anything wrong. I hope no one but us know you and Mina are here."  
  
"Don't sweat it," Elias said. "The only other people up here that I know are the Chaotix, and I'm not worried about them finding out."  
  
"Good," Knux said. He started to say that he and Mina should stay hidden, but realized that they weren't stupid and would know this already. So instead, he asked, "How's Mina doing?"  
  
"As well as can be expected, considering she's airsick and morning sick," Julie-Su answered, earning her another icy look from Elias. "Stop looking at me like that already!"  
  
"Stop making fun of Mina," Elias snapped.  
  
Julie started to snap back, but then she realized what was wrong. She sat down next to Elias. "Don't worry Elias. She'll be fine, and so will you. I promise."  
  
"So do I," Knuckles added. "We'll do our best to keep you safe."  
  
"Thanks guys," Elias responded. "I appreciate it, but that's not the biggest thing. The problem is waiting. I've never been too fond of waiting for anything, and now it's going to be ten times worse, with Mina pregnant. I mean, we can hold out, but for no more than seven months. She's already two months in you know, and she will have to go see a doctor every so often."  
  
Knuckles and Julie-Su exchanged looks. They had entirely forgotten those little details. Elias was 100% right of course. Mina would have to go to a doctor to get regular checkups. They didn't know how to handle this, but Knuckles thought of someone who might.  
  
"My mother might be able to help," he suggested.  
  
"Lady Lara-Le? Are you nuts? She'd turn Elias in!" Julie-Su yelled. From the guest room there was a loud groan and a soft curse.  
  
"Keep it down, will ya?" Mina yelled.  
  
"Sorry!" Julie answered. She turned back to Knuckles. "Lara-Le? Knux, come on. You know her . . ."  
  
"Better than you do," Knuckles interrupted. "She'll help, and I bet you that we won't have to worry about her turning Benedict Echidna. Bet?"  
  
"Bet," Julie said grimly.  
  
Elias made a face. "You know, this isn't helping," he grumbled.  
  
"Oh. Yeah. Sorry," Knuckles said. "I'll go talk to her."  
  
Knuckles left. Julie-Su looked at the clock. It was almost 10:00 by then.  
  
"Well, the day's off to an interesting start, wouldn't you say?" she joked. Elias looked at her, and her humor evaporated. She couldn't remember ever seeing him this sour. "Would you lighten up a bit?"  
  
"I'm just worried," he said. "What if you're right? What if Lady Lara-Le does turn us is?"  
  
Julie-Su smiled. "Don't worry. I was just teasing Knuckles. He gets touchy about his family, so it's fun to tease him about them. I think he's right, actually. She probably won't turn us in."  
  
Elias looked at her, totally somber. "I hope you're right about that."  
  
* * *  
  
Lara-Le was just putting little Keri-Le (A/n: I'm just going to assume that Knuckles is going to have a sister.) into her booster seat for breakfast when the doorbell rang. Wondering who on Mobius it could be, she answered the door.  
  
"Knuckles!" she said cheerfully when she saw it was her son standing on the other side. "Come in dear!" She hugged him, and it was that hug that made her realize something was wrong. "What is it Knuckles?"  
  
"Mom, if I let you in on a secret, will you swear not to tell a single living soul, even Wyn?" Knuckles asked.  
  
"Of course Knuckles," Lara said, confused. "What's the matter?"  
  
"Promise you won't go to Remington with this?" he asked.  
  
Lara-Le was startled. "Why on Mobius would I?"  
  
"You'll understand the questions in a minute." Knuckles took a deep breath to keep himself calm, and said, "Prince Elias Acorn, the guy you saw on the news this morning, is here on the Floating Island with Mina Mongoose. They're hiding out at Julie-Su's place."  
  
Lara-Le understood instantly why he was being so secretive. He was just being careful not to betray his friends. She smiled reassuringly and placed her hand on his. "This is one secret that I'll keep. I swear it to you Knuckles. Not even Wyn will know."  
  
Knux was profoundly relived. "I'm glad to hear that Mom. Now, there's a slight complication that I figured you could help with, since you've already been there twice."  
  
Lara-Le was confused again. What did he mean?  
  
"Mina, Elias's fiancée, is two months pregnant, and now that the entire island will be looking for, she can't even go to a doctor for checkups," Knuckles explained, seeing his mother's confused face. "What should they do?"  
  
Lara-Le was at a loss for a few minutes, but then she thought of a possibility. "What about my old doctor? The one I saw when I was pregnant with you and Keri? We've always been good friends, and I know I can trust her."  
  
"Can you trust her with something like this?" Knuckles asked, uncertain.  
  
"She just as trustworthy as your mother, sweetheart," Lara-Le said. "She's the only one I can think of."  
  
Knuckles sighed. "Well, there's not much choice, is there?" He stood up and hugged Lara-Le. "Thanks for the help Mom."  
  
"Knuckles!" Keri-Le cried out, wanting a hug too.  
  
Knux laughed a little as he picked her up and gave her a hug. "Sorry Squirt, but I haven't got time to play today."  
  
"No playtime today?" Keri asked, disappointed.  
  
"Nope," Knuckles said. "How about tomorrow? I'll take you to meet my friends Elias and Mina."  
  
"Yay!" Keri-Le said as she sat back in her booster seat and began eating her oatmeal again.  
  
"Is that a good idea?" Lara asked.  
  
"Yeah," Knuckles said. "They're about to have a kid of their own, so why not give them practice?"  
  
Lara-Le smiled. "Good point. I could have used practice before I began raising you."  
  
"Hilarious, Mother," Knuckles replied. "I better get going."  
  
As soon as he left, Lara-Le smiled. "Knuckles, you are going to have fun trying to keep this secret under wraps." 


	9. Tragic News

Chapter Nine  
  
"Tragic News"  
  
  
  
Dear Diary,  
  
It's been working! We've been up on the Floating Island for almost a month now and the only ones who know we're here and Knux, Julie-Su, Lady Lara-Le, the Chaotix, and my doctor, Dr. Chron. I feel really lucky, because Elias and I are now going to finally start planning the wedding! Oh, joyousness! I'm feeling happy. I have a small stomachache, but that's probably just my soon-to-be son. I'll talk more later. Thanks for hearing me out.  
  
Love, Mina  
  
Mina put her pen down and sighed, feeling happier than she had in a long time. At first, things had been a little uneasy because they weren't 100% sure who they could trust, but Lara-Le had been right about her old doctor. Dr. Chron was keeping the fact that Elias and Mina were on the island a secret. The recession was also over by that time, so people were becoming less desperate for money. This meant Elias could start looking for a job without too much worry.  
  
The Chaotix had been a great help as well. Mighty, of course, was ready to jump headfirst into this to help a new friend, and Espio had been great as well. Vector had been a little difficult at first, simply because he was Vector and for no other reason, but he started to help when he learned that Mina was pregnant.  
  
Lara-Le was fantastic. Since she was an echidna, her pregnancies had been a little different from Mina's, but she was still able to help Mina with any stomach problems and she was able to help her get to the doctor without any difficulty.  
  
Knuckles and Julie-Su were the best friends to Elias and Mina that they could have ever dreamed. Julie-Su became close to Mina almost right away since they both knew so much about Elias and since they had much in common besides that. Knuckles had always gotten along with Elias fairly well, and now they were practically best friends.  
  
All in all, Elias and Mina were quite glad they had run away from Knothole Kingdom. They were living such a happy life up on the Floating Island that they never wanted to go back.  
  
* * *  
  
Mina put her diary away and walked out into the living room for breakfast. Julie-Su called her over as soon as she heard her come out of her room.  
  
"Good morning Mina!" she greeted her cheerfully.  
  
"Hiya Julie-Su!" Mina replied. "What's going on?"  
  
"Nothing. I just wanted to make sure that you were okay with what I'm making for breakfast," Julie said. "How does waffles with strawberry syrup served with eggs and bacon sound?"  
  
"Sounds scrumptious!" Mina said. "You want any help cooking?"  
  
"Sure, thanks!"  
  
Mina set to work mixing the waffle batter. Just before she poured some onto the waffle iron, she felt a small jolt of pain in her stomach. She reacted with a small yell.  
  
"What's the matter?" Julie-Su asked.  
  
"Nothing. It's nothing," Mina said. She poured the waffle batter, wondering what, in fact, was the matter. She'd been feeling small pain a lot lately. She shoved the thoughts out of her head and continued to make breakfast.  
  
* * *  
  
"Delicious as always!" Elias said, licking his lips after finishing his waffles.  
  
Mina giggled. "I'm glad you enjoyed it!" she said as the three of them cleared the table. "Okay, it's whose turn to do the dishes?"  
  
"Yours," Julie-Su said.  
  
"Mine? Are you sure?" Mina asked innocently.  
  
"Nice try," Elias said. He handed her a dishtowel. "Get to it."  
  
"It was a shot," Mina remarked as she got to work.  
  
Elias and Julie-Su sat down in the living room and turned on the television. The news was on, and this time there was a report stating that if Prince Elias saw this, he should just let his parents knows he's okay. Elias sighed.  
  
"It has been a long time since anyone heard from me," he admitted. "Maybe I should give my parents a call."  
  
"Maybe," Julie-Su said. "But, Elias, think for a second. What if they trace the call and find out where you are?"  
  
"Good point," Elias said. "Maybe I'll just write them a letter."  
  
"That would do."  
  
*CRASH! *  
  
Elias and Julie-Su jumped up. That crash had come from the kitchen. They hurried and saw Mina collapsed onto the floor.  
  
"MINA!" Elias cried. "Julie, call an ambulance!"  
  
"On it!" she said. She dashed out of the kitchen.  
  
"Mina, wake up! Mina!" Elias said, shaking her gently. Her eyes fluttered open for a second.  
  
"Elias . . ." she managed to whisper before she passed out again.  
  
* * *  
  
At the hospital, Elias couldn't stay still. He kept on pacing back and forth, waiting for the doctor to come and tell him what was wrong. He wasn't the only one on edge, either.  
  
"If they don't tell us what's up soon, I'm gonna blow a fuse!" Vector growled.  
  
"Chill Vector," Knuckles said. "We're all tense, but you're really not helping!"  
  
All of the Chaotix were there (except for Charmy Bee of course), plus Lara- Le and Keri-Le. Julie-Su had given them all a call once they were at the hospital and they'd all rushed over.  
  
"What's taking so long?" Elias complained.  
  
Julie-Su grabbed his shoulder and pulled him into a chair. "Will you stay in a seat? You're driving me batty with all of that pacing!"  
  
"Well, can you blame me?" Elias asked her irritably. No one said anything after that until the doctor came in.  
  
"Mr. Elias Acorn?" he asked.  
  
"Yes?" Elias said, standing up.  
  
"Mina wants to see you," the doctor responded.  
  
Elias followed him to Mina's room. She was sitting up in bed, looking very pale and sweaty.  
  
"Mina! Are you okay?" he asked, hurrying to her.  
  
"Now I am," she replied weakly, holding out her arms to him.  
  
They hugged each other and Elias asked, "What happened? Why'd you pass out? Are you sick?"  
  
"I'm not sick." She placed her hand onto her stomach. "It's our baby that I'm worried about."  
  
"What? What's the matter?"  
  
"I don't know. That's why I'm so scared."  
  
At that moment, the doctor came back in. "What's the matter doctor?" Elias asked.  
  
"Tell it to us straight," Mina said. "Is there something wrong with our baby?"  
  
The doctor hesitated before answering. "I'm so sorry, but . . ." He couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence, but Mina and Elias didn't need him to. Mina dissolved into Elias's arms, crying her eyes out, and Elias hugged her tightly, tears running down his own face. 


	10. Recovery

Chapter Ten  
  
"Recovery"  
  
  
  
Julie-Su, Knuckles, and Lara-Le sat quietly as they tried to think of some way to help Mina and Elias recover from this pain. They couldn't think of a single thing, though. Every idea they had was countered by "They lost a child. It wouldn't work." So they did nothing but watch helplessly as Elias talked quietly to Mina in Lara-Le's living room, who was still in a deep depression and had said almost nothing since she'd been let out of the hospital a week ago.  
  
After what seemed like an eternity, Knuckles came up with an idea that wasn't useless. "Why don't we call the Freedom Fighters? Or at least, we should call Sally and Sonic. They should know what's going on up here."  
  
"Good idea Knux," Julie said. "I'll give them a call. May I use your phone Lady Lara-Le?"  
  
"Certainly," Lara-Le said.  
  
Julie-Su called Sally first, as she was directly related to Elias.  
  
"Hello, this is Sally," she answered.  
  
"Sally? It's Julie-Su."  
  
"Julie-Su? Is something the matter?"  
  
"Yes. It has to do with Elias and Mina."  
  
Sally's attention was peaked. "What's wrong? Is one of them hurt?"  
  
"Not physically. For you to understand this, I think I should start at the beginning." Julie-Su took a deep breath and explained about Mina's pregnancy, which it turned out Sally had known about because Tails had told the Freedom Fighters when he got back to Knothole. Julie-Su then explained about Mina's sickness and her trip to the hospital. She hesitated before telling her what they had found out at the hospital.  
  
Sally had to sit down when she heard about the death of her unborn nephew. She was at a complete loss. She felt horrible about it, but she couldn't imagine what it was like for the would-be parents. After a while, she said, "I'm going to tell the others and then we're going to come up to the Floating Island."  
  
Julie-Su had had a feeling that was coming. "What about your parents? I'm sure they must still want Elias to come home," she said.  
  
"Without a doubt, but they've given up on the idea of forcing him home," Sally said. "They finally understand that Elias ran away because of himself, not because of Mina or anything else. They just want to know he's okay."  
  
"Well, really, he's not."  
  
"I know. We'll be there in a few hours." Sally hung up the phone. So did Julie. She looked over to the depressed couple, gathered her courage, and told them that Sally and the Freedom Fighters were coming to see them. It had a somewhat positive effect.  
  
"They're coming to see us?" Elias said quietly.  
  
"That's right," Julie-Su confirmed. "In a few hours."  
  
Elias actually half-smiled. He turned to Mina and said, "Come on Mina, didn't you hear her? Our friends are coming up for a visit."  
  
Mina just looked blankly at him, but for a moment he could have sworn that he saw her give him the tiniest smile.  
  
* * *  
  
As soon as Sally told the Freedom Fighters the news, they all agreed that they had to go see Elias and Mina, to try and cheer them up by some degree.  
  
"We have to try at least," Sonic said. "Losing their child, that's the worst thing that could have happened to them, especially on top of everything else they've gone through lately."  
  
Bunnie nodded. "Ah agree. They need some familiar faces."  
  
"So what are we waiting for, Christmas?" Tails said. "Let's go already!"  
  
They all loaded into the Freedom Fighter Special and took off for the Floating Island. On the way, Rotor asked, "What are we going to do to try and cheer them up?"  
  
That one stumped them all. Not even Tails, who was supreme when it came to cheering up his friends, could come up with an answer, but then, they had never dealt with anything of this caliber.  
  
After a while, Sonic said, "I guess we'll just have to be friends for them. I doubt we can do anything more than that."  
  
* * *  
  
Elias gave Sally an almighty hug when they got there, which she returned happily. They had missed each other a great deal, and now Elias needed his sister more than ever. Mina just gave everyone a small smile when they got there, but she didn't say a single word, even when they all hugged her. Seeing the state Mina was in, Lara-Le suggested they all go inside for some lunch.  
  
They ate quietly. Realizing that no one was willing to start a conversation, Tails tried to start one himself. "What have you been doing since you arrived up here anyway Elias?"  
  
"Nothing, really," Elias replied. "Since Mom and Dad started that search for me and Mina, we've been hiding out at Julie-Su's apartment mostly."  
  
"Well, what about after they gave up?" Bunnie asked.  
  
"That was about the time Mina got sick," Elias said quietly.  
  
Everyone fell silent again. Tails tried again after a while. "What are you going to do now that they have given up?"  
  
"Try and find a job, first of all," Elias said. "Get a place of our own, too. I don't want to burden Julie-Su for the rest of our lives."  
  
Julie-Su gave a small snicker at her end of the table. "I've told a million times, I don't mind."  
  
"But I do mind," Elias said. He smirked. "Besides, if I stay too long, Knux will start to get suspicious."  
  
Knuckles looked up from his food. "Of what?" he asked.  
  
Julie-Su, catching what Elias meant, gave an overly innocent smile on purpose. "Of our little affair, that's all," she said.  
  
Mina rolled her eyes, but Knuckles, having a dry sense of humor, thought she was being serious. "WHAT AFFAIR?!?" he demanded.  
  
Everyone except Mina started to laugh. "Relax, Mr. Too-Tense-Guardian," Elias said. "We were kidding."  
  
Knuckles resumed eating, looking embarrassed. Mina gave Elias a look that said plainly "Don't do that to him." Elias snickered and resumed eating. "This is great cooking, by the way Lady Lara-Le," he said.  
  
"Thank you Elias," she replied.  
  
After lunch, Even though she still hadn't spoken, Mina was looking much better. Elias was full of life again. The pain of losing their unborn son was still there, but it was dulled to some extent.  
  
They went out (except Lara-La) to have some fun around Echidnaopolis. (A/n: If that's wrong, please correct me.) They went to see a movie, to the arcade, and to the mall. They had a lot of fun and didn't realize how late it was until it turned dark.  
  
"Good lord!" Sonic said. "The day's already gone. That's what I call way past fast!" Everyone except Mina laughed at the joke. "I guess we better get back to Knothole."  
  
"Yeah," Sally agreed. "Dad said we could only come up here for one day." They walked back to the Freedom Fighter Special. Sally hugged Elias and Mina again. "If you need anything, don't hesitate to call. I don't care what I'm doing; I'll drop it and come to help you. Family always comes first."  
  
"That means a lot to me Sal'," Elias said. "Thanks."  
  
"I mean it," Sally said. She turned and started to climb onto the Special.  
  
"Sally, thank you," came a quiet voice from behind her. Sally turned. Mina was smiling at her. "Thank you."  
  
Sally smiled at her again and got onto the Special. When it was gone out of sight, Elias asked, "Don't we have a wedding to plan?"  
  
Mina smiled and kissed him. "I believe we do."  
  
They headed back to Julie-Su's apartment. "Are you okay Mina?"  
  
"I'm not completely okay," she said. "I'm not going to pretend that I am. I'm never going to be okay again, but there's no point in dwelling on it." She gave him a sad smile. "We just have to move on, and that's all there is to it. We can start the planning for the wedding in the morning."  
  
They kissed again and continued home. 


	11. Reflection

Chapter Eleven  
  
"Reflection"  
  
  
  
Elias sat up in bed. He looked at Mina, who was still sound asleep beside him. Little wonder of why she was still asleep. It was three in the morning. He climbed out of bed and went out into the living room, where he sat on the couch. He couldn't understand why he hadn't been able to sleep yet that night. Mina had fallen asleep straight away, and so did Julie-Su. (Her snores carried right through the wall.) He lay down on the couch and stared up at the ceiling, letting the thoughts he'd been fighting down all night drift into his mind.  
  
So much had happened in the past few months. He and Mina had run away from Knothole. They were now living with Julie-Su and they had both become much closer than they had been in the past three years, especially over the matter of their son.  
  
That thought flared Elias up. He felt it was unfair to create a life only to have it taken away before it even gets a chance to live. He also felt that what that loss had done to Mina was unfair. But then, he thought, life's never fair, is it? If it were, then they wouldn't have had to run away from Knothole.  
  
Knothole. Something he realized that he missed. He knew he was going to miss his friends and family, but he didn't think that he'd miss them this much. He almost wanted to go back for a moment, but when he reminded himself of what the consequences would be to go back to Knothole, the feeling quickly died.  
  
His thoughts drifted to how the Chaotix, not to mention Lady Lara-Le had been so wonderful to him and Mina ever since they had arrived on the Floating Island. Knuckles had been very much the friend he now realized, looking back, he'd needed so badly, just as Julie-Su and Mina had made an instant attachment to each other. They Chaotix had become a sort of surrogate family for them, and he was very grateful for it.  
  
Then his thoughts came to Mina. He'd never loved anyone so much in his life. He cared so deeply for her, and he knew that she felt the same way about him. He felt as though he was the most fortunate guy to ever exist, to have Mina love him so. He wanted more than anything else to be with Mina for the rest of his life. He was looking forward to the next day, when they would begin planning for the wedding.  
  
Elias closed his eyes and when he opened them again, it was late morning. He sat up. "When did I fall asleep?" he thought. "Whatever. We have plans to make." 


	12. Party!

Chapter Twelve  
  
"Party!"  
  
  
  
Mina, Julie-Su, and Lara-Le were looking through a bridal shop for a dress that Mina would like. Julie-Su was keeping an eye out for one for herself, but as her wedding wasn't for a couple of months yet, it wasn't very urgent. The lady who was running the store asked Mina what type of a dress she was looking for. Mina gave her a general idea and the lady disappeared into the back room.  
  
"I wonder if she's got some dresses waiting for special customers," Lara-Le said. Mina and Julie shrugged. Just then, the lady returned carrying a long white wedding gown. It was a strapless dress that had a belt of pearls around the middle and a pair of white gloves to match. It was a simple dress, just the kind Mina had been looking for. She and Elias had already agreed. They just wanted a simple wedding.  
  
The three women left the store with the wedding dress on a hanger and protected by a coat bag. After they stopped for a quick lunch, they headed to Lara-Le's apartment. Knuckles, Elias, and Keri-Le were there, having some lunch themselves.  
  
"Where's Wyn?" Lara asked.  
  
"He said he had some errands to run, but he'll be back later on," Knux explained. (A/n: Wyn is never going to appear in my stories. Forgive me, but I've never really liked him for whatever reason.)  
  
"Okay," she responded. "Did you call the caterer?"  
  
"Had to call three different caterers to get someone," Elias grumbled. Mina smiled and gave him a hug.  
  
"Well, we're not going to crazy with the food, are we?" she asked.  
  
"Nope. I said it was for a simple wedding and we didn't want anything too over-the-top," Elias assured her.  
  
"Good," Mina said.  
  
Julie-Su laughed. "You two are really about keeping it basic, aren't you?" she teased.  
  
"Neither of us has really ever had the stomach for anything fancy," Elias said.  
  
Knuckles gave a frustrated snort. "Which is just fine by me. We're having enough trouble just making basic plans."  
  
"Aw, but it's for your best friends!" Mina joked, throwing her arms around Knuckles and hugging him. Everyone, including Knuckles, laughed.  
  
"Yeah, yeah, I know," he said. "I'm not saying I mind, I'm just saying that this is a lot of trouble, that's all. Nothing we can't take care of."  
  
"We can do it!" Keri-Le put in.  
  
Knuckles laughed as he picked up his baby sister. "Yup. We sure can. Especially if you're helping out Squirt!"  
  
"Big Brother!" Keri said cheerfully, hugging him tightly.  
  
Elias stood up. "Lady Lara-Le, do you mind if I use your phone?" he asked.  
  
"Not at all," Lara-Le said.  
  
Elias picked up the phone and called his sister. She was very glad to hear from him.  
  
"How're you doing Elias?" she asked.  
  
"I'm doing just fine, thanks," he replied. "Listen I just called to invite you and the rest of the Freedom Fighters to the wedding."  
  
"Oh, so you're finally getting around to that, are you?" she teased.  
  
"Two minutes and you're already teasing me?" he grumped. "It's not until next month, but do you want to come?"  
  
"Are you kidding? I wouldn't miss it for anything!"  
  
"Excellent! Invite Mom and Dad too," he said.  
  
"Okay. I'll tell the Freedom Fighters. When did you say the wedding is?" Sally asked.  
  
"We don't have an exact date yet. I'll give you a call when we do."  
  
"Perfect! I'll se you then Elias!"  
  
"See ya sis'!" Elias hung up the phone.  
  
"Inviting everyone?" Knux asked.  
  
"Yup," Elias responded. He glanced at his watch. "Ouch, look at the time! I've got to get going. I've got an interview for a job that I think I'd really enjoy."  
  
"What's that Elias?" Julie asked.  
  
"Nope, not saying. You wouldn't know anyway. It's a new thing that's starting up. Gotta go." Elias left and Knuckles soon followed suit, saying that he had to meet the other Chaotix about something. The girls weren't fooled. He and the others were planning the bachelor party.  
  
"They must think we're so gullible," Lara-Le remarked.  
  
"Ah, let them throw their bachelor party," Julie-Su said. "We're throwing a bachelorette party, aren't we?"  
  
"Yeah, I guess so," Mina said.  
  
"Okay then, I see no reason to hold back on anything then," Julie said, all businesslike suddenly. "I say we get enough wine, champagne, and beer to knock the Brotherhood of Guardians down drunk. Plus, we have to have a large supply of good food, and we of course have to have a few male dancers."  
  
"WHOA!" Mina yelled. "Hold on there about the dancers! Let's cut back a little. I do love Elias and I want to show no disloyalty to him."  
  
"Okay, fine, no dancers," Julie-Su said, seeming disappointed. "Well, I've planned stuff like this before, so just leave it to me."  
  
"Fine, but I'm warning you, no dancers!" Mina said. "I'm tired anyway. I'm going to go ahead and head home for a nap. See ya." Mina left.  
  
"Dancers?" Lara-Le asked.  
  
"You know it!" Julie-Su assured her. "I'm going to bring in some dancers whether she admits she wants them or not. I know Mina Mongoose better than that."  
  
* * *  
  
It was two weeks later. As it had been halfway through the month when Elias had invited the FF to the wedding, they were into the next month. The FF had been called by Knuckles and Julie-Su, inviting them up to the parties beforehand, so they were on their way. Sally, Talina, and Bunnie were going to Mina's party of course, and Sonic, Rotor, Antoine, and after some arguing, Tails were going to Elias's party.  
  
When they arrived, Elias and Mina were surprised to see them so soon before the wedding. When they found out about the bachelor and bachelorette parties, though, they were very amused that they'd made the trip just for this.  
  
* * *  
  
It was well into Mina's bachelorette party, after the dancers had made their appearance. Mina came over to Julie-Su and Lara-Le, seemingly ticked off.  
  
"Listen, Lara-Le, Julie-Su, about these dancers," she began. The two echidna women were very tense for a minute. Maybe they had made a mistake in judgment. But then, Mina smiled. "Good call! VERY good call!" She hugged them both and went to rejoin the party. Lara and Julie were relieved.  
  
"I guess you were right about her," Lara said.  
  
"Of course I was," Julie replied. "Mina's become my best friend. I know a lot about her."  
  
* * *  
  
At about the same time, the dancers were just making their appearance at the bachelor party. Tails gave a huge whoop and watched as they began to perform.  
  
Elias turned to the Chaotix and said, "Excellent choice on what to ignore!" And he too turned to watch the women dance. Knuckles rolled his eyes a little. He could tell that Elias was slightly drunk, but it honestly didn't matter. The entire point of a bachelor party was to unwind and just have fun before you tie the knot. As Elias and Knuckles had become best friends, Knuckles knew that Elias was going to be happy married to Mina, but he felt that he deserved a last night of absolute freedom before settling down.  
  
* * *  
  
Elias woke up the next day with a horrible headache. He had had a bit too much to drink at the party the night before and was now suffering from a hangover. That, however, was going to be the least of his problems in a minute.  
  
"Morning sleepyhead," said a female voice from behind him. Elias froze. That wasn't Mina's voice. He turned around and there in bed with him was one of the dancers from the night before. 


	13. Elias's Trouble

Chapter Thirteen  
  
"Elias's Trouble"  
  
  
  
Elias fell out of bed. He stood up quite quickly, before he realized that he wasn't dressed. As he looked around frantically for his clothes, the stripper stood up also. She looked at Elias in an amused sort of way. When Elias had finally found and gathered his clothes, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders, making him drop his clothes again.  
  
"You're not leaving already, are you?" she asked in a sensual voice. "I thought we could have another go. I mean, you have skill, and I find that to be a rare thing."  
  
Elias pulled himself from her grip, his face burning. He picked his clothes back up and said without turning around, "Listen. I want you to forget that anything ever happened, okay? I don't remember anything about last night. I was blind drunk. I don't know you. I don't want to know you."  
  
"But I want to know you," she said, trying unsuccessfully to wrap her arms around Elias. "I think we could make a great couple."  
  
Elias started to tremble. He got dressed in a hurry and said, "I have a fiancée that I love very much. I don't know how the hell I'm going to explain this to her. Please, just leave me be and pretend like last night never happened." With that, he hurried out the door, a huge wave of guilt and shame all over him. He couldn't begin to imagine Mina ever forgiving him for this one, and he wouldn't blame her in the least. This was the BIGGEST mistake of his young life, and he knew he'd probably never make as big of a mistake as he had last night. His head hurt with the hangover that he had, so he couldn't think straight. He needed some help.  
  
* * *  
  
"YOU WHAT?" Knuckles exclaimed when Elias explained his problem to him.  
  
Elias told him to quiet down (he still had a headache) and said, "You heard me the first time. I don't know what to do! I can't hide this from Mina, but I'm afraid to tell her too!"  
  
Knuckles shrugged and said, "I don't know what to tell you except that you're in some deep-ass shit!"  
  
Elias frowned. "Thanks a lot for telling me what I already know!" he snapped. Knuckles's eyes widened in surprise and Elias sighed. "I'm sorry Knux. I'm just really tense."  
  
"I know man, and hell, I don't blame you!" Knux said. "If something like that ever happened between me and someone, Julie-Su would have my balls chopped off. She'd probably do it personally!"  
  
They laughed, though Elias was still worried. He had never done something like this before. He wouldn't be surprised if Mina broke up with him after this, but he REALLY didn't want that to happen.  
  
* * *  
  
"He never came home last night, not even after you went to sleep," Mina said to Julie-Su that same morning. It was at about the same time as Elias arrived at Knuckles's home, but they didn't know that and they were both very worried about Elias.  
  
"I can't believe it," Julie said. "This isn't like him at all. I think we should call Constable Remington."  
  
"I don't think so," Mina said. "Remember, Elias had his bachelor party last night to. He probably crashed with Knux and just never called."  
  
"I hope so."  
  
"Let's call him and find out," Mina said.  
  
* * *  
  
**RING!  
  
Knuckles's phone rang. Wondering who would be calling him, he picked it up.  
  
"Knuckles? It's me, Mina," came the voice on the other end.  
  
Knuckles gulped. Elias was still sitting right there. "Oh, hi Mina," he responded casually.  
  
Elias froze. Mina?? Bad. Very bad!!!!  
  
"Yeah. Listen; did Elias crash at your place last night? He never came home."  
  
Knuckles glanced at Elias, who was mouthing, "Let me talk to her." Taking that as a hint, he said, "Elias is right here if you want to talk to him."  
  
Mina noticed the way he avoided answering the question, but decided not to comment. Instead she said, "Yeah, let me talk to him."  
  
Knux handed the phone to a very tense Elias. He hesitated a second before saying, "Hey there Mina."  
  
"Hiya!" she said brightly. "I was wondering where you were. Did you crash with Knuckles last night or what? He wouldn't answer the question."  
  
And neither did Elias, at least, not right there. Knowing that the best thing to do would be to tell Mina the truth face to face, he said, "I'll explain to you when I get home."  
  
Mina knew there was something going on right away. "Elias, what is it?"  
  
"It'll be better for both of us if I tell you in person," he said. "I'm on my way home right now. I love you. Bye!" He hung up the phone very quickly, leaving a confused Mina on the other end.  
  
Knuckles, who had heard what Elias had said, told his friend, "Elias, I wish you luck buddy. I think you're going to need it."  
  
"Yeah, something tells me I'm going to," Elias replied nervously. "I can't hide this from her. It'd be wrong if I did. Better to tell her right away."  
  
Knuckles gave him an encouraging pat on the shoulder before he left. Elias was scared out of his mind, even more scared than he had been when dealing with the Dark Legion with Julie-Su. (A/n: For that story, read NebulaBelt's story "Before Knuckles." It's one of my favorite stories. In fact, I kinda wrote this story as a companion to that one. But anyway, that'll clear up some of the references I've made in this story.) He knew what he had to do though, so he figured the sooner he got it over with, the better. He hurried home before he lost his nerve.  
  
* * *  
  
"THERE you are!" Julie-Su said the instant he opened the door. "We were worried about you."  
  
"Yes we were," Mina agreed. He could tell from the look in her eyes that he wanted to find out what Elias had been hiding from her on the phone.  
  
Taking a deep breath, Elias turned to Julie-Su and said, "Could you excuse us Julie? I need to talk with Mina."  
  
Julie-Su wondered what was going on, but knew better than to ask or even eavesdrop. She got up and went to her bedroom. Elias sat Mina down before he began.  
  
"Elias, what is it?" she asked. "Is this really that serious?"  
  
"Yes Mina, it is," he said, in such a serious tone that she was frightened. He took another deep breath and began to explain what had happened. "Mina, last night, at my bachelor party, I had too much to drink; as Sonic would say, way past too much. I, uh, well, I . . ." Here he hesitated. He started to tremble from head to toe, and Mina noticed.  
  
"Elias, what?" she asked gently. "What did you do?"  
  
"I somehow . . . wound up . . . in bed . . .with one of the strippers," he said jerkily.  
  
Mina was frozen with shock. She couldn't believe what she had just heard. She REFUSED to believe it. She stood up and said, "Elias, please, tell me you're just kidding. Please, say this isn't true!"  
  
Elias didn't meet her eyes. It was the first time he'd avoided them since that night when King Max had passed sentence on them to be separated. It was then that she knew it was true.  
  
"How could you?" she whispered. "Elias how could you?"  
  
"I would never do something like that on purpose!" he said. "I was blind drunk! I know that's no excuse, but that is the reason, and the ONLY reason that it happened. I will never forgive myself for this, and I don't expect you to be able to either."  
  
Mina saw the look on his face. He looked on the verge of tears. She sighed and said, "Elias, sit down." They both did. She took his hand into hers. "Elias, you're right about one thing. I will never be able to forgive this happening." Elias looked down, but Mina squeezed his hand and brought his attention back to her. "This does not, however, mean that I trust or love you any less." This surprised Elias. "Think about it. This only happened last night and you told me right away. If you had hidden it, then I would have to rethink trusting you, but you didn't. I trust you even more for living up to your mistake, and I love you for it as well." She smirked. "However, I will not trust you as far as I can throw you with alcohol anymore."  
  
Elias was relieved. This was far better than he had expected. He drew Mina into a kiss that made her giggle afterwards. "What was that for?"  
  
"Just for being the understanding and loving person you are," he answered. "And for the record, alcohol is hereby sworn off of my diet from now on." 


	14. Happy At Last

Chapter Fourteen  
  
"Happy At Last"  
  
  
  
Mina came out of the dressing room and looked at Julie-Su, Lara-Le, Sally, Talina, and Bunnie waiting for their reactions.  
  
When no one said anything right away, Mina asked, "Well?"  
  
Luckily, it turned out that the hesitation had been from shock of her beauty. Mina was dressed in a lovely white strapless gown with a string of pearls running just underneath her chest. She also had on a pair of white gloves and a long veil. It looked gorgeous on her, and the other girls were not afraid to tell her so.  
  
"Thank you," Mina said, blushing.  
  
"I hope my dress looks half as good on me when I get married," Julie-Su said.  
  
"I don't doubt it will," Mina said. "Until then, I think you and Sally had better get dressed too."  
  
"Oh, that's right!" Sally said. "I almost forgot that the wedding is about an hour away. Us bridesmaids had better get ready too!"  
  
Julie-Su and Sally hurried into their own dressing rooms to get ready. Mina looked at the clock. She was beginning to become anxious. In about an hour, she would become Mrs. Elias Acorn. She had never been happier in her whole life.  
  
* * *  
  
Knuckles helped Tails straighten his bowtie. "There ya go Tails."  
  
"I still feel like a geek in this thing!" Tails grumbled.  
  
Sonic and Elias laughed. "Hey I think it suits you," Elias teased. Rotor, Knuckles, Sonic, Elias, and Antoine doubled over with laughter while Tails just looked sour.  
  
When he got his breath back, Sonic said, "C'mon lil' bro! It ain't that bad!"  
  
"Shut up!" Tails snapped.  
  
"Aw, come on! I'm sorry!" Elias said.  
  
Tails smiled at that, but didn't say anything. Elias was a little confused, but Sonic whispered, "Tails has been really moody lately because he's been having trouble with Talina. Be a little nicer to him than usual."  
  
"It's no big deal!" Tails said. He seemed a little touchy about the subject so they decided to lay off.  
  
Knuckles put on his tie. "I still can't believe you asked me to be your best man!" he said.  
  
"Well, you are my best friend, are you not?" Elias joked. Knuckles smirked.  
  
Sonic cleared his throat. "Hey guys, this is all fun and everything, but I think we'd better get on out there. The wedding is in fifteen minutes."  
  
With that said, everyone hurried out of there and except for Knuckles and Elias, sat in the first row. The girls were already there. After about fifteen minutes, during which time all of the guests, including a few members of the Brotherhood arrived, the ceremony began.  
  
Sally and Julie looked stunning in their bridesmaid dresses. The dresses were pale lavender and had flowers on the hems of a deep purple. Their boyfriends stared at them and Sally and Julie-Su giggled under their breath.  
  
The flower girl came right after them. It was little Keri-Le, wearing a smaller, cuter version of the dress that Sally and Julie-Su were wearing. Everyone in the audience said "awwwwww" when she walked down the aisle.  
  
At last, the moment that everyone had been waiting for for months (A/n: and that all the readers have been waiting for all story) came. Mina stepped out at the end of the aisle. Elias was stunned by how gorgeous she was in her dress. She smiled when she saw the look on his face. As she stepped down the aisle, she saw that everyone was smiling at her. Tails's smile was a little forced, but full of genuine admiration.  
  
Soon enough, Mina was standing next to Elias at the altar. He took her hand into his and they let the preacher's words wash over them as they stared into each other's eyes lovingly.  
  
"Do you, Mina Mongoose, take Elias Acorn to be your lawfully wedded husband to have and to hold, to love, cherish, honor and keep in sickness and in health for as long as you both shall live?" the preacher said.  
  
"I do, for that long and beyond," Mina said. Elias blushed a little, which amused Mina. As long as they had been together, as many times as they had been intimate at night, Elias was still as shy as he had ever been.  
  
"I understand that the groom has prepared his own vows for this," the preacher said. "Elias?"  
  
Elias looked directly into Mina's eyes before he began speaking. "Mina, from the first moment I met you, I knew there was something special about you, even if you were in a bad mood when we met." That earned a laugh from everyone. "After that, all I could think about was you. Your eyes, your smile, your laugh, everything about you had me entranced. It's been a long, hard road for us to stay together, but I wouldn't change it for anything in the world." Under his breath, he whispered to Mina, "Except for the bachelor party incident." Mina giggled. At his normal tone, Elias continued, "I have never been sure about very much in my life, but I know this much for sure. I love you Mina. I always have and I always will. We are meant to be together Mina, and I am happy and proud to take you as my wife."  
  
Mina's eyes were watery when he finished. The preacher, after he regained his composure, for he had been teary as well, said, "I am now happy to pronounce you to be husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride." Mina didn't wait for Elias to kiss her. She threw her arms around him and pulled him down into a fiercely passionate kiss. Everyone cheered for them as they stood there in each other's arms.  
  
* * *  
  
At the reception, the Freedom Fighters, Chaotix, King Max, Queen Alicia, and Lady Lara-Le sat and watched as the newlyweds slowly danced to the soft music, except for Sonic and Knuckles, who were standing in a corner across the room, talking quietly.  
  
"Do you see now what I was trying to tell you after you separated Mina and Elias?" Sally asked her parents.  
  
King Max sighed and nodded. "I should have listened to you Sally. You were right about those two. They really, truly do love each other."  
  
"We were wrong. That's all there is to it," Queen Alicia agreed. "I wish that Elias would consider returning to Knothole with us."  
  
"Queen Alicia?" Lara-Le said. "We had this discussion before, remember?"  
  
"I do remember Lady Lara-Le," Alicia assured her. "I was merely stating a wish. I have learned my lesson though. Never again will I do anything that will be a detriment to my children's happiness."  
  
"Nor will I," Max said.  
  
At that moment, Sonic and Knuckles returned to the table. Sonic looked like he'd just been assured of something, and Knuckles looked like he'd done the assuring. Knuckles's patting Sonic on the shoulder confirmed this.  
  
"What's going on you two?" Julie-Su asked.  
  
Knuckles looked at Sonic and said, "That's up to him to say."  
  
Sonic took the hint and stood up. He looked at Elias, who nodded and called, "Stop the music!" Everyone who was dancing looked up as Sonic cleared his throat loudly.  
  
"Ahem!" he said. He walked over to Sally and suddenly got down on one knee. This visibly shook Sally. "Sally, we've known each other our whole lives, and we've been in love with each other for as long as I can remember. I can't stand waiting to ask you this anymore. Sally, will you marry me?" He pulled out a ring with small diamonds that formed a pattern shaped like an acorn.  
  
Sally stared for a moment, then she smiled and said, "Yes Sonic, I will!"  
  
Sonic stood up, placed the ring on her finger, and pulled her into a kiss. Elias and Mina smiled. Now Sonic and Sally would be happy just as they were going to be. 


	15. A Year Later

Chapter Fourteen  
  
"A Year Later"  
  
  
  
Dear Diary,  
  
Our one-year wedding anniversary is coming up next week. I'm so excited! So is Elias. I bet that Thomas would be too if he were old enough to understand, but then he is only four months old. Julie-Su, Knuckles, Lara- Le, The Chaotix, and the Freedom Fighters are coming up for the party that we're throwing.  
  
Oh, one other thing that I didn't write before; Julie-Su is expecting a little one of her own! Not only that, she and Knuckles asked Elias and I to be the godparents!  
  
Sonic and Sally got back from their honeymoon a few days ago and Sally said that she had a wonderful time. HA! I'll bet she did. Say goodbye to Sally's virginity! Oh well. They deserve it more than anyone else I can think of.  
  
Tails and Talina finally broke up. Antoine told me that it's been coming for a long time, so I guess that I'm somewhat glad it finally happened. Tails seems a lot happier now that he did finally break up with Talina, but she seems pretty upset. According to Sally and Bunnie, she went to live with some relatives of hers in Downunda.  
  
All in all, I'd have to say that the last year of my life has been the happiest. Even King Max and Queen Alicia have accepted me as a part of the family, though I think that part of the reason is that me having Thomas made them grandparents. Elias and I haven't got one regret about running away from Knothole. If anything, it made everything work out perfectly. Uh- oh! I hear Thomas crying. I better go feed him.  
  
Love,  
  
Mina  
  
* * *  
  
Mina scooped her four-month-old son out of his bassinet and realized that his stomach wasn't the problem; his diaper was rather smelly. She was just finishing changing him when Elias got home. He looked pretty exhausted. It wasn't surprising, considering what he had been doing with his time as of late. He had been organizing a group of Overlanders and Mobians alike into a group to help his sister with all different types of political affairs and other things of that nature. Mina wasn't sure what he meant for the group to do, but she didn't really care; Elias seemed to enjoy doing it.  
  
"Hi Elias," Mina said as he sat down on the couch in their apartment, which was right down the hall from Julie-Su's old one. She had moved in with Knuckles, of course, once they had gotten married.  
  
"Hey," he replied in an exhausted voice. "Tired. Two of the guys I was talking to tried to find out if they could be in charge and when I said no, they tried to force their way to the top by taking me down."  
  
"Are you okay?" Mina asked in a worried tone. Thomas made a little sound as if he understood.  
  
"Yeah, I'm fine," Elias assured them both. "They were both big and slow, so I could handle them easy. It was just exhausting, that's all." He looked up as Thomas made another loud noise. "Hey there, my tough little guy Thomas!" He took his son from Mina's arms and held him close.  
  
Mina smiled as she thought of what she had just written in her diary. Her life was so happy now. She had a wonderful husband, a beautiful baby boy, and she had great friends. Mina had no doubt in her mind that there would still be troubles ahead; there always were, but she also had no doubt in her mind that she and Elias and now their son Thomas would face them together and win. 


End file.
